The decision to use a worn pitch that had been played on two days previously by Pakistan when they beat Sri Lanka left England having to attune to a slow, low surface closer in nature to Karachi than Cardiff.

Morgan could not criticise the pitch too stridently given the ease with which Pakistan batted on it but he will be rueing the International Cricket Council’s decision to use a worn surface for the first knockout match of the tournament. Three pitches have been prepared in Cardiff for four games in the tournament and the decision was taken last year on which one to use for the semi-final. There will be a fresh pitch for the final at the Oval on Sunday where five pitches have been prepared for nine games (including three warm-ups).

“I don't think there was any home advantage. We knew that we were going to play on a used wicket at some stage in this tournament, and we found out the other day that today was going to be on a used wicket,” said Morgan. “I think, going into today's game knowing that we were going to play on a used wicket potentially brought Pakistan's game closer to their home. So it was a big challenge and one that was too far for us.

“We left ourselves short today adapting to conditions. It's a big frustration because I think we've played some great cricket in this tournament so far, and we weren't anywhere close to it today.”

The groundsman in Cardiff is in charge of preparing the pitches under the supervision of the ICC, which has the final say. Regardless of the conditions, Morgan knew this was a bad day for his team with the all the good work of the previous two years coming to nothing when it counted most.

“I thought every partnership we had struggled to take the initiative to the Pakistan bowlers. I thought they bowled really well. They adjusted to conditions extremely well.”

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, felt the semi-final exit was a true reflection of the team’s standing in the global game despite their fine form going into the match.

“Finishing third or fourth, I think that's about right where we sit in world cricket at the moment. We've got a long way to go until we reach the level we want to get to and a level I believe we're good enough to get to,” he said.